Tuesday, 4 a.m.

Can Blake Snell please come home?

And can he bring Charlie Morton with him.

All along, this was the fear. The despite their reputation for rebuilding pitchers, the pitching staff of the Tampa Bay Rays wouldn't be able to hold up.

Well, so far, so bad.

For the second straight game Monday night, it was not. The Rays, behind starter Michael Wacha, were shelled by the Boston Red Sox, last year's last-place team in the AL East. One game after losing a 12-7 loss to Miami, the Rays fell 11-2 to Boston.

Content beyond this point is for members only

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.

In two games, the Rays have now given up 23 runs and 30 hits in 16 at-bats.

Oh, it's a long season, and doubtless, the Rays will get some good moments from Rich Hill, Chris Archer and Wacha. But the first impressions were not good ones. Wacha gave up five runs, four of them earned, and eight hits in six innings.

 “I was throwing strikes, but i wouldn’t necessarily say they were quality strikes," Wacha said. "Too many in the middle of the zone. I was able to escape a couple of times, but there were too many balls over the heart of the plate. Too many hard hit balls. iIve got to be better than that."

The Rays managed just two hits off starter Nick Pivetta. They were one-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The Rays' only runs came in the eighth when two men were walked home by Boston relievers.

The Rays had won eight in a row from Boston, and the Red Sox entered the game 0-3 on the season. But Boston took charge early.

The teams play again tonight at 710 p.m. at Fenway Park. Tyler Glassnow will start for the Rays against Martin Perez of the Red Sox.